Busted in the NFL: Stimulant Medications

A recent article in Yahoo Sports uncovered the personal and financial cost of NFL Cinncinati Bengal's cornerback Joe Haden's apparent inappropriate use of Adderall. Stimulant medications are considered performance enhancing drugs and therefore fall under the guidelines of the NFL's Performance Enhancing Drug Policy. These same rules apply to collegiate student-athletes that play under the guidelines of the NCAA. To read more about the financial toll of this decision on Hayden's paycheck click here.

NCAA 2012-2013 Banned Substance List

Ever year the NCAA furnishes its member institutions with the most current list of banned substances. This list is meant to educate the student-athlete on the classes of drugs and some of their compounds that are deemed illegal in the collegiate sports arena. Some of these drugs or medications are considered to be performance enhancing while others are simply illicit drugs that can be a danger to one's health and well being.

Please click here for the NCAA's 2012-2013 Banned Subsance List.

Supplement 411: a Great Resource for Information on Dietary Supplementation

Take some time, perhaps as much time as you would spend shopping aimlessly for your dietary supplements, and navigate to a website called Supplement 411 . USADA (United States Anti-Doping Agency) has created this website to help guide athletes in their never ending search for the magic supplement...the pill or powder that will elevate their game to the next level. The site is designed to do the following:

• Designed to give facts about the supplement industry,
• Suggests what is the best thing to take,
• Explains why athletes often choose to take dietary supplements,
• Discusses the serious health and safety risks that athletes are exposed to when using dietary supplements,
• Warns the consumer about the possibility of ingredient mislabeling and/or product contamination of banned substantces, and
• Helps to identify risks and red flags when purchasing these supplements.

Click on the Supplement 411 link above or simply cut and paste this link into your browser and start educating yourself of the hidden dangers of dietary supplement use and abuse.
http://www.usada.org/supplement411

New App: NSF for Sport

I wanted to make you aware of a new App that is available for your iPhone or Android devices. It is from NSF Certified for Sport. To meet the growing demands of athletes, coaches and all those concerned about banned substances in sports supplements, NSF International created the new NSF Certified for Sport® Program. This new NSF program is a focused solution designed to minimize the risk that a dietary supplement or sports nutrition product contains banned substances.

The program objective is to certify that participating manufacturers of sports supplements have met NSF's stringent independent certification process guidelines, which were developed through a consensus process involving regulatory, industry and consumer groups. A key component of this program will be a specially designed NSF Mark on each product label to show athletes, coaches and consumers that a sports supplement has met NSF's comprehensive program guidelines.This program, which focuses primarily on the sports supplement manufacturing and sourcing process, provides key preventive measures to:

1. Protect against adulteration of products
2. Verify label claims with product contents
3. Identify athletic banned substances in the finished product or ingredients
   
Use this App in addition to talking with the medical staff and dietician to determine if the supplement that you want to use will best help you reach your peak performance as well as keep you compliant with the NCAA rules and regulations regarding banned substances

Buyer Beware: DMAA in Your Supplements

A widely used ingredient that is found in commonly purchased nutritional supplements to aid in "leaning or cutting" as well as enhancing muscle development is considered a banned substance by many governing bodies that govern intercollegiate athletics as well as professional and international athletics. This product has a number of names that are used to disguise itself on an ingredient label. The most commonly seen names is 1,3-dimethylamylamine (DMAA), also referred to as methylhexanamine, Geranamine, and geranium oil, extract, or stems and leaves from its stores. In addition to its ban as a performance enhancing supplement ingredient it has also been increasingly associated with serious adverse events.

Here is a list of products to avoid as they contain this banned substance. This list is NOT ALL INCLUSIVE. Meaning that DMAA and its alias' are found in a great number of supplements. Some of these products are sold at stores such as Walmart and GNC...

USPlabs Jack3d (Tropical Fruit and Lemon Lime)
USPlabs OxyELITE Pro
Nutrex Research Lipo-6 Black (his and hers)
Nutrex Research Lipo-6 Black Ultra Concentrate (his and hers)
Nutrex Research Hemo-Rage Black Powder, Punch, Berry
iSatori PWR
Muscletech NeuroCore
Muscletech HydroxyStim
Fahrenheit Nutrition Lean EFX
Muscle Warfare Napalm
SNI Nitric Blast
BIORhythm SSIN Juice
MuscleMeds Code Red
SEI MethylHex 4,2
Gaspari Nutrition Spirodex

Nutritional Supplement Ingredient Warning: Geranium

American tennis player Robert Kendrick tests positive...

Health experts and anti-drug enforcers are scrambling to warn athletes and the general public about a potentially dangerous supplement ingredient with a harmless name: Geranium. In this article, you can read about the banned supplement ingredient that is commonly found in energy drinks and energy capsules that has resulted in competition suspension for a number of athletes.

There is additional concerns about the use of Geranium. Research has shown Geranium to have similar or potentially stronger effects than ephedrine, a nutritional substance that had been banned by most agencies overseeing collegiate, professional and international athletics. Geranium, coupled with the effects of the extreme heat of the South, makes for a lethal mix.

Click the link below for the full article:

http://www.thepostgame.com/features/201108/geranium-products-might-pose-serious-risk-athletes

Energy Drinks: More Than Just a Drug Testing Issue

For years, the Athletic Training Department and it's Team Physicians have been warning about the use of energy drinks. During drug education meetings, supplements and energy drinks are thoroughly discussed because they are often the source of NCAA banned performance enhancing drugs: guarana, caffeine, and citrus aurantium to name a few. The use of these energy drinks becomes even more troublesome when combined with stimulant medications that are commonly used for the treatment of ADD/ADHD.

Consuming even one of these energy drinks could result in some negative side effects such as: increased blood pressure, increased heart rate, irregular heart beats, and sleep distrubances. With the hazards of heat illness and dehydration in the southern region of the United States, consumption of energy drinks could spell disaster.

The New York Times and MSNBC have interesting articles regarding the dangers of consuming energy drinks. To read these articles in their entirety, just click below:

New York Times: Scientists See Dangers in Energy Drinks...

MSNBC: Energy drinks can be dangerous for teens, report says...

2009-2010 NCAA Banned Substance List

All student-athletes who participate in Division I collegiate athletics are governed by the rules and regulations set forth by the NCAA. The rules that govern drug testing and the use of banned substances were put in place to protect the health and welfare of the student-athlete.

Click on the following URL to obtain the most recent list of substances that are banned by the NCAA:

http://www.ncaa.org/wps/wcm/connect/53e6f4804e0b8a129949f91ad6fc8b25/2009-10+Banned+Drug+Classes.pdf?MOD=AJPERES&CACHEID=53e6f4804e0b8a129949f91ad6fc8b25

Am I Allowed To Take My Medication?

Beginning in the Fall of 2009, the NCAA has set forth stricter rules and regulations that pertain to the proper documentation and proper use of stimulant medications. According to the NCAA Committee on Competitive Safeguards and Aspects of Sport, these new rules are designed to, "protect student-athlete's health and safety and ensure a level playing field."

Exceptions are made for those athletes with a documented medical history that demonostrates the need for the use of such drugs. The NCAA states that medical exemptions may be granted if the student-athlete has:

• declared the use of the substance to the athletic administrator responsible for keeping such medical records,
• presented appropriate documention of the diagnosed condition, and
• provided documentation from the prescribing physician explaining the course of treatment and the current prescription.

Louisiana State University has a protocol to address these specific issues as they relate to the need for medication, the testing required and the documentation process. The NCAA Committee on Competitive Safeguards and Aspects of Sports has developed an informative video to help answer some of the questions the student-athlete, their parent or guardian and the prescribing physician may have regarding use of these NCAA banned medications. Click on the URL provided below to watch the video:

http://web1.ncaa.org/web_video/health_and_safety/medexceptions.html

2008-2009 Banned Substance List

All student-athletes who participate in Division I collegiate athletics are governed by the rules and regulations that were set forth by the NCAA. The rules that govern drug testing and the use of banned substances were put in place to protect the health and welfare of the student-athlete.

Click on the following URL to obtain the most recent list of substances that are banned by the NCAA:

http://www.ncaa.org/wps/wcm/connect/resources/file/ebb83308f4d9141/banned%20drugs%202008-09%2006-20-08.pdf?MOD=AJPERES&attachment=true

ADD and ADHD: Do Foods Make a Difference?

Do you know a teenager who has an inability to stay focused on a given task? Were you a child who found it impossible to sit still in your seat during school? Are you being told your child has a discipline problem? These are common complaints heard by physicians all over the world. After thorough testing and evaluation, the physician may give a diagnosis of ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder) or ADHD (Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder).

While these children often see an improvement with the addition of medications, little emphasis is ever put on the value of a sound diet. There is some evidence that there could nutrients missings from one's diet that could help with some of the side effects of ADD/ADHD. Some research has even shown that certain foods may even be triggers for some symptoms.

The following article written by Susan Kundrat discusses some of the research being done that draws a link between the cause and effect of nutrition on this disorder.

From the website: http://www.nutritiononthemove.net
"Susan Kundrat, MS, RD, LDN , CSSD, is the President and founder of Nutrition on the Move, Inc. A Licensed, Registered Dietitian, Susan has a passion for helping clients learn to eat to enhance overall health and wellness. Susan is a member of the Gatorade Sports Nutrition Board."

NUTRITION and ADD/ADHD

"Medication can control many symptoms, but doesn’t address the underlying causes and may result in side effects. Therefore, many parents and health practitioners are looking for diet-based alternatives..."

To continue reading this article, click on the website below:
http://www.foodproductdesign.com/articles/465/465_0601nn.html